Gemini wants to talk. All the time.
Google I/O 2026 kicked off this week, and to no one's surprise, it was almost completely about AI.
To start with, Google is rolling out its "intelligent, AI-powered Search box" globally. Instead of just autocompleting your text, it uses AI to anticipate your intent and help you formulate questions. You will be able to use images, video files and entire Chrome tabs as direct search inputs. Its AI Mode, now powered by the new Gemini 3.5 Flash, will still live alongside it, for your follow-up questions/corrections.
Google also introduced Gemini Spark. Running in the cloud, Spark is a digital assistant that can autonomously monitor credit card statements for hidden subscriptions, track updates from your kid's school emails, or pull notes together into a Google Doc. It can even interact with third-party apps like OpenTable and Instacart to complete tasks—though it promises to ask for your confirmation before making any final purchases or sending emails. Google may have figured out a way to take the fun out of shopping.
There were glimpses of future hardware: Google and Samsung teased a collaboration with Gentle Monster and Warby Parker and offered the first look at two models of Android XR smart glasses. The glasses will allow you to chat with Gemini, get real-time audio translation in the speaker's voice, translate real-world text in your line of sight and snap photos on the go.
Naturally, with all these new features, Google adjusted its AI subscription tiers, adding a new $ 100-per-month mid-range (hah!) tier. The AI Ultra Plan will offer five times higher usage limits than the standard $20 Pro plan, as well as priority access to Google's Antigravity coding tool and 20TB of cloud storage.
Meanwhile, down from its original $250 price tag, Google's top-tier Ultra plan features 20 times higher usage limits and exclusive access to Project Genie — Google's experimental research preview that lets you build interactive 3D worlds using real-world Google Street View imagery.
We dig further into a few more of the biggest announcements below.
— Mat Smith
The biggest stories you might have missed this week
Xreal's Project Aura smartglasses are a maximalist take on Android XR
Karissa Bell for Engadget
Instead of subtle, normal-looking glasses with some smart features, Xreal's smartglasses aim for an immersive AR experience, with a focus on entertainment. That approach is very much the same as the company's Android XR-powered Project Aura, but based on Karissa Bell's time with these new smartglasses, they may offer more than just another wearable screen.
Compared with the low-key (arguably lower-spec) audio-only smartglasses from Warby Parker and Gentle Monsters, Xreal's Project Aura packs in three cameras, a 70-degree field of view and hand-gesture navigation. The main gesture is a pinching motion that will feel pretty familiar to anyone who has used other AR setups, such as Apple's Vision Pro.
Speaking of which, Project Aura comes with a tethered puck, just like Apple's wearable display. It comes with a trackpad and a fingerprint sensor, although neither worked on the demo model we tested. The company hasn't revealed pricing details yet (expect those alongside the formal launch later this year), but they're likely to exceed Xreal's One Pro glasses, which cost $650.
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Google's Gemini Omni can generate 'anything from any input,' starting with video
Gemini Omni is Google's new gen-AI model that can "create anything from any input". Gemini Omni Flash is rolling out now to the Gemini app, Google Flow and YouTube Shorts. It's apparently the next evolution of Nano Banana and, presumably, its current video generator, Veo 3.1. It lets you "combine images, audio, video and text as input and generate high-quality videos grounded in Gemini's real-world knowledge."
Apparently, Omni also better understands physical forces such as gravity, kinetic energy and fluid dynamics, making scenes more realistic.
Spotify is adding more AI gunk for podcasts and audiobooks
Announced on its investor day, Spotify is expanding a feature that enables users to generate "personal podcasts." It announced this tool last month, with the option to use AI agents such as OpenClaw and Claude Code to whip up synthetic audio. The company says it's adding a feature that lets users generate personal podcasts directly within Spotify. It notes that after you enter a prompt, it will generate audio that draws on factors such as your Spotify taste profile and world knowledge. You can also feed in text, PDFs and links to give the tool more context for what you'd like to hear about. Spotify says eligible Premium users in the US will get access to personal podcasts next month. The Roman Empire, Final Fantasy VII Remake and Liverpool FC, please. In under 30 seconds. Go.
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Meta's latest attempt to copy its rivals is a Reddit clone
Meta
Meta has launched a new app called Forum. Social media consultant and analyst Matt Navarra spotted Forum in the App Store, where it is described as "a dedicated space for the conversations that matter most to you," created specifically for Facebook Groups. As Navarra notes, Meta seems to be pushing the idea that the app can help users get "real answers" from "real people," making it sound very similar to Reddit, offering an escape from the atrocious genAI search results we've all been suffering from recently. (Did we mention Google I/O was this week?)
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